Boy, 11, killed in South Side crash 'touched a lot of people's hearts'

Child ejected from vehicle

Eric Clark, for the Chicago Tribune

Chicago police conduct an investigation around an SUV that police say was struck by another vehicle being driven by a carjacker, at 55th Street and Halsted Avenue. The accident caused an 11-year-old child to be ejected from the SUV, causing the child's death.

Chicago police conduct an investigation around an SUV that police say was struck by another vehicle being driven by a carjacker, at 55th Street and Halsted Avenue. The accident caused an 11-year-old child to be ejected from the SUV, causing the child's death. (Eric Clark, for the Chicago Tribune)

Every year around the holidays, Donovan Turnage, his brother and their father went to get haircuts. The family outing gave the 11-year-old boy an opportunity to catch up with his dad, with whom he was close but never missed a chance to see.

Donovan felt he could share anything with his father, said Richard Miller, the boy's cousin.

"If I had no one to talk to, that's who I would talk to,'" Miller recalled Donovan saying about his dad.

A stolen vehicle cut that trip tragically short Saturday afternoon when it hit the Chevrolet Suburban that Donovan was riding in, killing him.

The crash in the Englewood neighborhood, which happened about 12:30 p.m. near West Garfield Boulevard and South Halsted Street, came after police said they tried to stop a car taken in an armed carjacking in the area. When officers activated their lights to stop the stolen vehicle, the driver sped off and struck the Suburban.

Donovan, a fifth-grader at Morrill Math & Science School, was in the back seat as his father drove him and his brother to get haircuts, Miller said. Donovan was thrown through a window during the crash.

Donovan and another passenger in the Suburban were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where Donovan was pronounced dead at 1:35 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Police could not provide the age or condition of the other passenger, a man, as of Sunday afternoon.

Illinois State Police said the carjacking suspect is responsible for two robberies and another carjacking after the crash Saturday, Sgt. Jewel Harris said. That person was last seen heading west on Interstate 88 in a light blue 2007 Honda Accord he is believed to have stolen from an elderly couple in the area.

Sunday morning, family members remembered Donovan as an articulate, outgoing child who loved technology — so much so that they could not imagine him doing anything with his life but one day working with computers.

"He was ahead of his time," said Miller, listing all the times his cousin explained to his relatives how to use different devices, including cellphones and video game systems.

Donovan spent just as much time helping neighbors as he did his family, walking their dogs and carrying their groceries, according to family members. Miller said his cousin even volunteered his time to help out with a neighbor's business.

Donovan took the most pride in his schoolwork, according to family members. He recently came home with a sweatshirt he won for being the "most improved student."

"He could hold a conversation whether you were an adult or not," recalled Barbara Hicks, Donovan's aunt.

Donovan was also physically active, playing football with his friends no matter the weather, Miller said. Reflecting on the boy's outgoing attitude, Hicks said she never found him "staying in one spot too long."

Family members said they cannot imagine Christmas without what Miller called their "mascot."

An 11-year-old boy on his way to get a haircut with his father died Saturday afternoon after a traffic crash involving a stolen vehicle in the South Side's Englewood neighborhood, family and police said.

Chicago Tribune reporter Adam Sege recaps the overnight crime report which include a 11-year-old boy dying from a car crash, 18-year-old boy shot to death and 2 more shooting across the city. (Posted on: December 22, 2013)